Externship Program

The Externship Program at St. John's School of Law places students in a range of preapproved legal placements, working directly with an assigned mentor-attorney on real legal cases. Some externship placements provide students with actual litigation experience. Others concentrate on case management and policy or prepare students for lawyering tasks in a specific area of law. Students choose placements based upon their interest in a substantive area of law or their desire to learn or sharpen a particular lawyering skill.

As Program participants, St. John's law students work at civil externship sites, judicial externship sites, and criminal justice externship sites. Recent placements include:

  • A&E Television Networks
  • Channel 13 WNET
  • Federal Trade Commission
  • The Legal Aid Society (civil, criminal and juvenile rights)
  • Mental Hygiene Legal Services
  • Merrill Lynch
  • New York City Law Department
  • New York Stock Exchange
  • Brooklyn Defenders Services
  • Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Queens District Attorney’s Office
  • United States Attorney’s Office (Eastern and Southern District)
  • Judicial Chambers (Federal, State and City courts)

Students augment the hands-on experience they gain from their externship placement by taking a small interactive seminar each semester. In the fall, they take the General Externship Seminar and in the spring they select a civil, criminal, judicial, or environmental externship seminar based on the nature of their externship placement. In the summer semester, Program participants must register for the Summer Externship Seminar. An International Human Rights Externship is now being offered in the Fall and Spring Semesters.

Participants receive a total of 4 credits (2 pass/fail and 2 letter graded seminar credits) for the fall and spring semesters. For the summer semester, they receive 3 credits (2 pass/fail and 1 letter graded credit).

To learn more about the Externship Program at St. John's School of Law, please contact us.